Mapping field boundaries & soil samples with GPS
The Soilmentor app includes a handy map, so you can save your soil sample locations & field boundaries, and easily return year after year to the same spots to accurately monitor changes in soil health.
As all farmers know, there can be huge amounts of variability even within a single field, so the idea of finding an ‘average’ soil health for the field is difficult, and requires you to test at many sample sites.
So, our advice is to just pick 1 or 2 sample sites in a field, and monitor how things change at each site as you change your management practices. To do this you need to go back to more or less the same spot, which is where being able to mark your sample sites on the map makes things easier!
You are also able to upload your field boundaries to Soilmentor, so you can easily navigate from field to sample site, by clicking directly on the phone app map.
Returning to the same sample sites when monitoring information on your soils is important. It saves lots of time, as you can sample fewer locations in the field but still have a good idea of how your management is affecting soil health. By going back to the same location, you reduce most of the variables, so you can be pretty certain that any changes in what you see and record are due to a change in management.
So, now you’ll really know if that cover crop helped improve your rooting depth and VESS score or not! With GPS you can locate your samples sites more accurately, view them on a map, and ensure you return to the same spot each time.
Got any questions about GPS and using Soilmentor to monitor soil health? Contact us!
